Lee stays hot and Eldridge homers, but rest of Giants' lineup quiet in loss

SAN FRANCISCO – The Giants’ offensive surge in late May has led to a rarity in these parts: continuity in the lineup. The first seven spots have been virtually unchanged over the past 10 games.

That can be a blessing because players like predictable batting order, but also a curse when a good chunk of the regulars go cold, a situation that got no better in Tuesday night’s 6-3 loss to the Nationals.

Manager Tony Vitello said before the game he has resisted the temptation to move his two hottest hitters any higher because leaving Jung Hoo Lee and Bryce Eldridge in the fifth and sixth spots has worked, providing punch in the middle of the lineup and more balance overall.

“You look at how the lineup played on the road trip,” Vitello said. “Things have gone well.”

But the longer the stalwarts who hit above Lee and Eldridge stay cold, the better the chances Vitello succumbs to the temptation.

In the Giants’ nine June games, leadoff hitter Casey Schmitt, No. 2 hitter Rafael Devers and cleanup man Willy Adames are a combined 19-for-115. That’s just one more hit than Lee has produced this month during his historic tear.

Lee extended his hit streak to 17 games, the longest by a Giant since Donovan Solano’s similar streak in 2020.

Lee’s single and two-run double Tuesday were his 28th and 29th hits over his past 12 games. No San Francisco Giant had ever stuffed that many hits into so few games. The player in franchise history to do so was Hall of Famer Bill Terry in 1932.

With two outs in the ninth, Eldridge gave his manager one more lineup decision-making data point when he sent his third Major League homer over the center-field wall.

Eldridge was standing next to Lee’s translator, Justin Han, when Lee grounded out in the seventh inning. Eldridge said he turned to Han and said, “What the hell is Jung Hoo doing? He got out. That’s unacceptable.”

“I think he’s the best hitter in the world right now,” Eldridge later told reporters. “I don’t think you can deny that.”

Even the best hitter in the world needs a supporting cast for his team to win, though, and right now the other Giants are finding big hits elusive.

Through seven innings Tuesday the Giants already set their season high for a nine-inning game with 13 runners stranded.

Over the first four innings, the Giants had a Lee single, Eldridge double and triples by Luis Arraez and Jonah Cox. They also drew four walks. All of those loud hits and patient at-bats netted them a grand total of zero runs.

Adames struck out to end the first inning after Arraez’s triple. Cox and Schmitt could not produce with the bases loaded in the second. Eldridge hit a ground ball with two on to end the third and Schmitt lined out after Cox’s two-out triple in the fourth.

Even after Lee’s two-run double in the fifth cut into a 3-0 Washington lead, the inning ended in disappointment for the Giants after they loaded the bases with one out and could not even tie the game.

Unlike his recent predecessors, Vitello has been reluctant to force his regulars onto the bench for a day amid their struggles and a grinding schedule. He would not commit to any lineup changes when the Giants play for the 13th straight day Wednesday. With an off-day coming Thursday, he said he would let his better players decide if they want to sit.

“With an off-day looming after that,” he said, “I would call [Wednesday] more of an emotional battle than it is a physical battle.”

Vitello said he texted the training staff after the game inquiring on the health of two regulars who might need a day for physical reasons. He would not name them, but Devers could be one of them. He tweaked a lower-half injury with a swing Sunday night in Chicago.